


In Shadow

by tricksterash



Series: In Shadow [1]
Category: Criminal Minds, Supernatural
Genre: Case Fic, Crossover, Gen, Mild UST, Minor Character Death, Monster of the Week, No pairings - Freeform, Season/Series 03, Winchesters meet the BAU, because it's impossible to avoid with these characters, keep that in mind, monster's hunting kids
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-04
Updated: 2014-09-02
Packaged: 2018-01-18 04:26:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 16,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1415068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tricksterash/pseuds/tricksterash
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When kids are disappearing in Lyndfield, Maine, the BAU is called in, but what they find may not be what they were expecting. Can the Winchesters and the FBI work together, or will they just get in each other's way?</p>
<p>*Russian translation available <a href="https://ficbook.net/readfic/4580616">here.</a>*</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

The sky had long grown dark by the time she left her friend's house, and Ellie knew she should have been home a while ago. She and Mila had been playing a new game though, and they'd lost track of time. Besides, home wasn't too far away, and she wasn't walking alone anyway.

Ellie brushed a stray blond hair from her face as she stole a glance at her companion. Mila's older brother Dante was one of the coolest boys she knew, much cooler than the boys in her class who were still convinced she had cooties. The older boy's straight dark hair was highlighted with bright red streaks that she thought looked awesome, and he had these bright green eyes that always seemed to be sparkling. He hadn't even argued when his mom had asked him to walk her home, just saved his game and grabbed his shoes. Her best friend was so lucky.

It had gotten so dark all of a sudden. When Ellie looked up she couldn't see any stars, and the moon must have been hiding behind a cloud because she could have sworn she'd seen it as they left the house. She felt a prickle of nervousness on her skin, as if she'd done something wrong and been caught. Ahead of her, Dante paused mid-step before grabbing her wrist and walking faster. Nearly tripping over her own feet as she tried to get her footing, Ellie glanced up and saw his gaze rapidly flicking between shadows.

"What's wrong?" she asked, "Dante?" That prickly feeling was getting worse.

"Quiet, Eliza," Why was he using her full name? Like her mom when she was angry? "Just keep walking, okay?"

"But-!" she tried to argue but was cut off as he broke into a run, forcing her to either struggle to keep up or be pulled off her feet.

The smack of their shoes on the pavement was the only sound. There were no birds, or dogs, or even crickets; the sounds of early spring were suddenly absent. The street lights flickered overhead and went out. The children's' steps were abruptly cut off and a terrified shriek pierced the air.

 

_"The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is the fear of the unknown." - H. P. Lovecraft_


	2. Help is on the Way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Look out Lyndfield.
> 
> The Winchesters and the BAU are on their way, and where they go, chaos is sure to follow.

When Aaron Hotchner called his team into work early that morning they knew it had to be a time sensitive case. The seven of them, including Penelope Garcia, had filed into the briefing room as the sun was rising and Jennifer Jareau was fairly sure they wouldn't be functioning without the coffee they each carried. Everyone was exhausted from their last case, having returned only yesterday, but JJ knew that this couldn't wait and her team would understand.

"Eliza Miller, age ten, and Dante Green, fifteen, were last seen at roughly seven o'clock by Rosa Green when she sent her son to walk Eliza home," she began, pulling two pictures up onto the large screen. The first was of a small blonde girl in a soccer uniform, her hair in pigtails and her blue eyes shining happily; in the second a teenage boy was making a playful face at whoever stood behind the camera, unruly dark hair hanging in his green eyes. "They never made it to the Millers' house; that was two nights ago."

She paused to let this news sink in. Every one of them knew that their chances of finding these kids grew slimmer with every minute; it had almost been forty-eight hours already. She cleared her throat and continued, "The local sheriff's department believe their disappearance may be connected to two others in the past month. Thirteen year old Matthew Kelly," a photo of a sullen boy with ginger curls and storm-grey eyes appeared, "vanished from his home three weeks ago. No sign of struggle or forced entry."

Another picture, this one a beautiful girl with dark skin and hair, and deep brown eyes; her smile was warm, and her stance confident. "Danica Rogers is sixteen. She was on her way to meet her boyfriend for a date last week. He told the sheriff that she never reached the movie theatre, and no one has seen or heard from her. The files we have on the first two victims are incomplete, but the sheriff promises that we'll have access to the rest when we arrive."

"The victimology is all over the place," Derek Morgan commented, flipping through the local police's files, "And it says here that, other than Eliza and Dante, they didn't seem to know each other. How are they all connected?" Emily Prentiss nodded while Spencer Reid looked through the files again, as if he hadn't already read them through at least twice. Not even their resident genius could see a connection.

"That's just one of the things we need to find out," Hotch said; his brow creased in concern but his eyes were like steel, "We have no evidence, no bodies, and no witnesses but the sheriff is convinced that they're connected. If they are then our unsub is evolving. Rapidly."

"We don't have time to take chances," David Rossi summarized, looking to his old friend for confirmation. Hotch nodded.

"Garcia," he said and the technical analyst looked up in surprise, "You'll be coming with us. The entire town has been reporting issues with their power and phones; I don't want to risk losing contact."

"Right-o, sir. I'll grab anything I'll need then." As she prepared to leave, Hotch met each of his team's eyes.

"Wheels up in forty."

**-X-**

"Are you sure this is one of ours?" Sam asked his brother, looking over the newspaper article again. Dean had walked into their motel room with the usual takeout coffee and breakfast, dropped the paper in Sam's lap and announced a new hunt. Four kids had disappeared in a month in the next state over, but there was no sign of demon activity or haunting in the area. It sounded like something the police should handle, not the Winchesters.

"I told you, I called Bobby to look into it. He says that the same thing happened almost fifty years ago," Dean shot him an almost scolding look, "He agrees with me."

Sam rolled his eyes. Of course Bobby had agreed with Dean; Sam would have too at any other time. It was better to check it out and leave than to risk letting something run loose, especially when there were kids involved. But, Dean's deal came due in only a few months and Sam couldn't afford distractions. He needed to save his brother. Dean glanced at him and sighed, as if he could see Sam's thoughts written across his face.

"If it's not one of ours," he said reluctantly, "Then we'll leave, Sam. Promise."

Sam nodded and let the subject drop. He knew that his brother would be far too stubborn to let this go once he'd started the case; neither one of them would be able to leave while kids were still disappearing, but especially not Dean. Sam also knew that he wouldn't be able to blame him for breaking that particular promise. So, instead of arguing, he grabbed his duffel and headed for the door. By the time the sun had started to warm the chilled morning, the Impala was already on the highway.

Next stop, Lyndfield, Maine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Help... we'll see. Thanks for reading.


	3. Hymn for the Missing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Talking to the family is never easy.

The Millers lived in a quiet neighbourhood; all well kept lawns and gardens, small brick houses, and even literal white picket fences. The only disturbance was the occasional group of children playing in the street or a dog barking as the Impala passed. Sam couldn't even find it in himself to be surprised that this cheerful town was possibly being stalked by a supernatural monster. It seemed that no one could be allowed a normal life these days.

The roar of the engine must have alerted Carol Miller of their approach because they hardly had time to knock before she'd answered the door. She was a petite woman with blonde hair and a pretty face, though the dark bags under her eyes added years. She kept herself partly shielded by the door and watched them with wary eyes.

"Carol Miller?" Sam asked to be sure. When she nodded, he and Dean held up their badges, "I'm Agent Callahan and this is my partner, Agent Doyle. We'd like to ask you a few questions about your daughter's disappearance. May we come in?"

The woman hesitated and, for a moment, Sam was sure that she would refuse and shut the door in their faces. Finally, she nodded and stepped aside for them to enter the photo lined hallway. A rapid clicking sound met their ears moments before a small brown dog came barreling around the corner and skidded to a halt at their feet. The puppy sniffed each brother hopefully before his tail lowered in disappointment, evidently not finding the one he was looking for. Mrs. Miller watched the dog with sad eyes.

"He's done that to everyone who walks through that door," she explained, closing the door behind them. They followed her to the living room; a bright area with dark-wood and leather furniture taking up most of one side, and wide patio doors leading out to the yard on the other. Mrs. Miller excused herself to make some tea, returning with red-rimmed eyes that they politely ignored as they accepted the cups. She curled up on the couch across from the brothers, clutching the cup in her hands and twisting it nervously before finally taking a sip and clearing her throat.

"You - you said you had some questions?" she asked. Sam and Dean glanced at each other, silently agreeing that there was no point in drawing things out. The woman was already upset enough.

"Mrs. Miller," Dean began, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees, "Did you notice anything strange before you're daughter's disappearance? Did she say anything, or do anything, that she normally wouldn't?"

"No. Nothing," she insisted, setting the cup down and playing with the hem of her shirt. The puppy came over and sat at her feet, just big enough to rest his head on her knee, "Ellie's always so happy. She... she knows not to talk to strangers, she loves soccer, and she's doing well in school. She's a good girl. I told the police that, of course. I know it's not very helpful..."

"Everything helps, in situations like this," Sam assured her gently, "Especially anything from the past few weeks. You're sure there's nothing at all?" He saw a flicker of doubt in the woman's eyes and knew she must be holding something back. "You can tell us."

"It's probably nothing, really, but... Ellie hasn't been sleeping well. She's been having nightmares. My husband thought I was being silly," she smiled nervously, "But I could have sworn there was something in her room one night; when she woke us up." The brothers shared a look and her smile twisted bitterly. "See? Silly."

"Do you remember what it looked like?" Dean asked, but Mrs. Miller shook her head.

"It was... it was just a shadow in the corner of my eye. When I turned on the light, there was nothing there."

"Did it ever show up again? Or did your daughter ever mention seeing it herself?"

"No. Never."

They fell silent for a moment before Sam asked, "Had you heard of the other missing kids before the other night? Is it possible that Ellie might have known any of them?"

"She's never mentioned them, but we had heard about those kids. That's why Dante was walking her home. It was only a few blocks," she brushed a few tears from her eyes and suppressed a sob, "This shouldn't have happened. They should have been _safe_."

"Thank you for your time ma'am," Sam said, still using that gentle tone he'd mastered years ago. He and Dean rose to their feet, "I know this must be hard, but if you think of anything just give us a call." He wrote down one of his cell phone numbers on a scrap of paper and handed it to her. As they turned to leave Mrs. Miller reached out and grabbed his sleeve.

"You're going to find her, aren't you? You're going to bring my baby home?" Her eyes still shone with tears, but Sam could see a small spark of hope that she refused to let go of.

                "We'll do everything we can, I promise." And God, he hoped he would be able to keep it. She gave him one last teary smile before rising to escort them out, but was startled by a sudden sound. The small dog stood perfectly still with fur standing on end, growling lowly at the patio doors.

"Boo, what's gotten into you?" Mrs. Miller scolded, but the dog ignored her. Dean looked out into the yard but couldn't see anything unusual in the late afternoon sun. Of course, he'd been doing his job far too long to trust his eyes all the time, and dogs always had a better sense for this than humans. With a sigh, Mrs. Miller made her way to the front door.

"Good boy, Boo," he whispered, leaning down to scratch him lightly behind the ears as he passed. A minute wag of his tail was the only sign that the dog had heard him, keeping up his defenses until long after they were gone.

 

**-X-**

 

With no time to waste, the BAU had determined their immediate plans while in the air. Hotch, JJ and Garcia would go straight to the station to introduce themselves to Sheriff Eagan and make they had an area to work in. Meanwhile, Morgan and Reid and Rossi and Prentiss would go to interview the latest victims' families. Hopefully they would have a working profile before nightfall.

Morgan had driven through the small suburban neighborhood for nearly half an hour, carefully avoiding the kids who'd just gotten out of school, before he and Reid found the small blue house where Rosa Green lived with her two children. Before they could even knock, the door was opened by an eager ten year old girl. Her hopeful smile dimmed when she saw them though, likely expecting her brother.

"Are you Mila Green?" Morgan asked, crouching to be at almost eye-level with her. She nodded shyly, playing with the end of her long, dark braid. "My name is Derek Morgan, and this is my friend Doctor Spencer Reid. We're from the FBI, do you know what that is?" She nodded again. "Is your mother home? We just need to talk to her for a bit."

"Mama's in the kitchen," Mila told them, her voice little more than a whisper. She twisted her colourful skirt in her hand as she glanced around anxiously before her brown eyes settled on Morgan again. "I'll go get her."

Morgan blinked as the door was abruptly closed inches from his face. He rose back to his full height and looked at Reid.

"She's cautious," he said to the younger agent with a small chuckle. It wasn't everyday that a ten year old slammed a door on an FBI agent.

"If his younger sister is this careful, then how prepared must Dante Green have been?" Reid mused, so quiet that Morgan thought he may be talking to himself. He nodded anyway, amusement gone. They'd thought the UnSub to be taking at least most of the children opportunistically, but if they were careful or knew how to defend themselves then it could imply more planning.

The door was opened again, this time by an older Latina woman. Like her daughter she was cautious and asked to see their badges before letting them in and leading them to a small, but comfortable living room. The cheerfully crackling fire behind the grate did nothing to dispel the somber mood of the house. Mila sat down on one of the old couches with her mother and didn't take her eyes off the flames.

"Mrs. Green -" Morgan began but was cut off.

"It's Rosa, 'Mrs. Green' is my mother-in-law," she said, reciting it as if it were an old and well used joke. It probably was; it was just missing the young boy who laughed no matter how often he heard it.

"Rosa, our team is looking into the recent disappearances, including your son. We were just hoping you could answer a few questions that might help us in our investigation, if that's all right." He waited for her nod before he continued.

"You told the police that Dante was walking Eliza home; about what time was that?"

"It had to be nearly... seven? It was already dark. I meant to send them earlier, but I lost track of time."

"Did you know about the other children that have gone missing?"

"Yes, that is why I sent Dante with her. I didn't want her to go alone and Dante knows to stay safe. His father taught him that many years ago."

"Had your son been acting out lately? Or having trouble at school?"

"Not that I know of," she said, and then her eyes hardened, "My boy didn't do anything. He's a good, kind boy. He wanted to be a police officer, like his father was."

"What Agent Morgan is suggesting," Reid spoke up before Morgan had a chance, "Is that your son may have acted out due to a person or an event that could be related to his disappearance. At this point we have no reason to suspect him of being involved. Did Dante ever mention knowing any of the other victims? Or meeting someone new?"

Rosa shook her head, her harsh expression slowly changing to that dazed, slightly confused one that people often got from hearing Reid speak for the first time. They only asked a few more questions before thanking Rosa for her time and getting up to leave. Unfortunately they hadn't been told anything they didn't already know, but they hadn't really expected much. Rosa asked Mila to show them to the door while she finished making dinner and the quiet girl stood up with a considering expression. She only mumbled quietly to herself until they reached the door, finally speaking up as they stepped onto the porch.

"Mr. Reid? I, um..." She tugged on his sleeve until he crouched for her to whisper in his ear. Reid's eyes widened in confusion and she stepped away, shaking her head. "Never mind, it's stupid," she said, closing the door abruptly. Again. Morgan raised an eyebrow at his friend's still confused expression.

"What'd she say?" he asked.

"I think... she may have called me crazy."

Morgan sighed and raised a hand to his brow. He really hoped that Prentiss and Rossi were having better luck with the Miller's.

"Let's head to the station, Reid," he said, then looked back to see that Reid wasn't even paying attention, "Reid! You coming?"

"Hm?" The younger agent glanced up, startled. "Sorry?"

"Let's go."

"Right," he threw one more thoughtful glance at the house before following his friend to the car.


	4. The Longest Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the night is dark and full of terrors...

Things had not gone well at the Millers' home.

Prentiss and Rossi arrived at the Sheriff's Station not long after Morgan and Reid having been sent away by Evan Miller. When they'd first arrived at the house, the irate man had accused them of needlessly interrogating his wife before they could even go through the door. Mrs. Miller had explained to them, after calming him down, that two kind 'agents' had already come to speak with her. They'd gotten some information from her and asked her to call if they contacted her again, but the couple were too concerned afterwards to answer many questions regarding the case.

"Did Strauss mention sending anyone else?" Prentiss asked Hotch, after Sheriff Eagan left to warn his officers.

"I would have told you if she had."

Rossi made a thoughtful sound, "Their names do sound familiar, but I don't think I've met them. Callahan and Doyle."

"They're most likely using aliases," Reid pointed out, "Doyle is the surname of several fictional characters, including more than one in law enforcement. And Harry Callahan is the titular character in the Dirty Harry films. We could also consider that both names are Irish in origin, so it could be that - What?" He looked around, seeing the bemused looks on his teammates' faces. Rossi raised an eyebrow, mouthing 'Dirty Harry?' at him. Reid shrugged as he returned his attention to Hotch.

"So we're no further into our investigation and we have a new problem. Garcia, can you run the number they gave Carol Miller?"

"Already done, sir," she shook her head at her laptop screen, "Burner. Bought with cash. Hasn’t been used."

Hotch pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a sigh.

"Let's keep focused on what we can do, but keep an eye out. We need to consider the possibility of multiple Unsubs and that they could be inserting themselves into the case. What do we know about the victims so far?"

"They're all between the ages of ten and sixteen," Prentiss noted, glancing at her files, "And many could be considered high risk. The sheriff has reports of Matthew Kelly running away at least three times; Danica Rogers is described as a 'free-spirit' and her grandparents were worried that she might resent being sent away to boarding school; Dante Green is a troublemaker in and out of school; lost his father, Daniel Green, about a year ago - according to the other officers, Dante saw his father as a hero. It wouldn't be unusual for him to act out."

"But Rosa said he hadn't been," Reid reminded, glancing at the lights when they flickered for a moment. Morgan shook his head.

"It wouldn't be unlikely for him to hide it from her." _Or for the other officers to try giving him a second chance before telling her._ Prentiss nodded.

"The only one not suspected of running away at first was Eliza Miller."

"And Matthew's taking karate and Dante learned self defence from his dad. They wouldn't have been the easiest targets."

Prentiss slid another file onto the table. "Danica was helping teach a women's self defence course at her school this year, too."

"So why _these_ four?" Rossi mused getting up and facing the white board set up on one side of the room. Four innocent faces gazed back at him, "It couldn’t have been for convenience, not when he had to sneak into one boy's room and so many could fight back. But if it was premeditated, then what's the connection?"

Before any suggestions could be made every light in the station suddenly went out, leaving the room so dark that Hotch couldn't even see his hand when he held it in front of his face. Looking toward where he thought the door was, he didn't see any of the emergency lights that should have come on. He heard man's voice cursing in the other room, a crash, and then a louder curse as the Sheriff made his way to their room. As his eyes started to adjust to the darkness, Hotch could just barely make out the indistinct shadow when the man stepped into the doorway.

"Everyone all right in here?" he asked, still cursing under his breath and rubbing his knee.

Hotch nodded his head automatically before remembering that Eagan couldn’t see him.

"Yes, I'm guessing this is one of those blackouts you mentioned?"

"Yeah. 'Bout half the town's out, far as I can tell."

"Do you need to call anyone?"

The Sheriff paused, most likely shaking his head. "No, no. It'll come back on its own in a minute. No phones anyway. It's strange, like something's messin' with the reception."

Hotch pulled out his phone to check and, sure enough, there was no signal at all. He heard the soft sounds of fabric moving and saw blue-tinted lights illuminate his team's faces as they did the same. Was it some kind of jammer? Then the phones suddenly went dark, as dead as the lights.

**-X-**

"What the hell?" Sam wondered as his laptop and all the lights in the room died.

"Still think the police can handle it on their own?" Dean called from across the room. He pulled the curtain to the side and looked out into the early twilight. Even the streetlights had gone out and the sun had just set, leaving only the faint light of a moon partially hidden by clouds.

If Sam were any less mature he would have stuck out his tongue at his brother's back. Instead he settled on a simple 'shut up' before letting his head hit the table with a soft thud. Winchester luck strikes again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... but the fire burns them all away.
> 
> Often literally when the Winchesters are involved.


	5. The Longest Night Pt. II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the night is dark and full of terrors...

_"I want you to check out the Kellys' home tonight, before it gets too late. We need to find something we can use."_

Morgan understood why they needed to hurry, and it really wasn't that late yet. The days were still short this early in spring. Hopefully the Kelly family would feel the same and forgive the time. While everyone back at the station would be working on the profile (or in Garcia's case, digging through the files and reports on her laptop for anything that could help the team), Prentiss and Morgan would be searching their only known crime scene for something that regular law enforcement might have missed. Matthew had been gone for weeks now and they had little hope of finding anything useful, but it was really all they had to go on.

The house they found was old and falling apart. The steps and porch creaked so badly that Morgan was almost sure they would give way under his weight. He could hear some sort of shorts game blaring from the TV and had to knock on the door three times before he got anyone's attention.

As he was about to knock a fourth time, the door was finally swung open by a stressed looking woman in her late twenties. Her tired brown eyes were framed by curly red hair - the same shade as Matthew - that had managed to escape her messy pony-tail.

"Sarah Kelly?" he asked, remembering her name from the file. She crossed her arms and gave them both a calculating look.

"You cops?" she asked.

"FBI, ma-am," They showed her their badges, but she hardly spared them a glance. "We're here about your son."

"Feds are called in for runaways, now?" she asked sceptically, raising an eyebrow. The agents glanced at each other before Prentiss spoke up.

"Mrs. Kelly, we have reason to believe that your son's disappearance could be linked to the recent kidnappings in the area. We were hoping to take a look at his room, see if we can find anything that might help our case."

"Got a warrant?"

"We can get one if we need it."

The two women stood firm, not breaking eye contact. Finally, Sarah rolled her eyes and stepped aside mumbling 'not worth it' under her breath. Almost the instant they stepped inside they heard and irate voice yell from the other room, voice competing easily with the cheering crowd at the game.

"Sarah! Who's at the door?"

"Couple ah cops!"

"I ain't here!"

"No one asked you! ... An' they can hear you, yah damn drunk!"

The narrow flight of steps creaked as loudly as the porch had as they climbed to the second floor, which itself wasn't much better. Sarah led them to the furthest of three doors, painted a bright blue that stood out easily in the din hall. Morgan suspected that Matthew may have painted it himself, what with the messy splatters on the frame and floor and that it looked like regular craft paint.

Sarah opened the door and Prentiss stepped inside, stopping with a curious look on her face when the floor creaked loudly. She shifted her weight slightly and the floor gave another protest.

"Mrs. Kelly?" she called after the woman before she could reach the stairs. Sarah glanced over her shoulder with a raised eyebrow.

"Can you hear this anywhere in the house? The creaking?"

"Yes, it's an old house," she replied, somewhat defensive, "Mine and Jacob's room is right underneath the boys'."

"Did you hear anything the night Matthew disappeared?"

The young woman - very young, Morgan now realized; she would have been a teenager when Matthew was born - swallowed roughly. Her face softened in the first sign of grief they'd seen.

"No," her voice was so quiet that they could hardly hear it, "I didn't hear the boys move until Aidan got up in the morning." Then her face hardened again as she locked it all away.

"Aidan's already asleep," she told them, gesturing to another door, "Try not to wake him up." And she was gone.

Looking around, Matthew's room was small, with pale blue walls and a worn brown carpet. His bed was pushed against one wall, a desk against the other, with a small window opposite the door. Turning on the small desk lamp did little to brighten up the room, but the light on the ceiling didn't work when they tried it. There were few signs of it being the room of a fourteen year old boy either, bare walls and few toys; only the still-rumpled Pokémon bedspread and a small stack of battered comics on the desk stood out.

It didn't look like it had been touched since the CSU had come in. It didn't take long before Prentiss, who'd started looking near the window and bed, interrupted his search through the desk's drawers.

"What do you think made these?" she asked, tracing her fingers lightly over four long scratches on the window frame. They were maybe half an inch thick and easily twice as deep.

"A knife? How did these get left out of the re-"

"What are you doing?"

The boy in the door way looked like a small version of Matthew, though softer - baby fat in his cheeks obvious despite his tiny frame. He rubbed his brown eyes tiredly, a small yawn escaping.

"Hello," Prentiss said, turning to face him, "You must be Aidan."

"What are you doing?" he asked again, his confused expression quickly becoming annoyed, "Why are you in Mattie's room?"

"We're trying to figure out what happened to your brother. Do you remember the people who came here right after he was gone? The ones working with the police?"

"The camera guy?"

"Yes. We're trying to find anything the 'camera guy' might have missed."

"He was stupid," the boy said bluntly and Morgan glanced at Prentiss.

"Oh?" He crouched down so he could look the boy in the eye, "Why do you say that, Aidan?"

"He didn't believe me. No one ever believes me."

"What didn't he believe?" When Aidan moved his hand away from his eye Morgan could see the faint shadow of a fading bruise. He carefully kept his reaction from showing on his face and startling the boy.

"I told him about the shadow." His voice held such a matter-of-fact tone that the agents were taken aback for a moment.

"The shadow? Whose shadow?"

" _The_ shadow!" he insisted, a frustrated pout twisting his features. When it was clear that neither of them understood, he stomped his small foot and glared at them. "No one believes me! Not Mama or Father! Not even Mattie believed me! I saw him, I did!"

"Aidan!" Sarah appeared at the top of the stairs, "You're supposed to be in bed!"

"Mama! They were in Mattie's room! He hates it when I go in his room!"

"Shut that brat up!" Jacob Kelly yelled.

"I'm trying!"

Sarah scooped her son up and hushed him softly before turning to the agents.

"I think it's time for you to go. Now."

She then turned her back in a clear dismissal and took Aidan to his room, leaving them to find their own way out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know, they say that you should trust in the instincts of a child.


	6. Come Little Children

**_Come little children, I'll take thee away_ **   
**_into a land of Enchantment._ **   
**_Come little children, the time's come to play_ **   
**_here in my garden of Shadows._ **

**_Follow sweet children, I'll show thee the way_ **   
**_through all the pain and the Sorrows._ **   
**_Weep not poor children, for life is this way_ **   
**_Murdering beauty and Passions._ **

 

_Come away, come away. Won't you come away with me? No, no. Not this one. This window reeks of adults. Blind, Stupid humans made fools by Age._

_This is better. There is Age here, but they Believe! Oh, but it Burns! No good, No good!_

_There are more scents, more windows, more Fears, but none of them are right. None of them! Oh, but the sound of a child's mind is singing nearby. There it is, there it is!_

_You reek of fear and I can take that away._

"But I can't, big sister! I can't sleep if I'm scared!" _the little one cries. She fears the Dark. She fears what it hides. Sweet, innocent Fear._

"Just go to sleep. Monsters don't exist!" _No? Blind, Stupid little girl-child. How can you not Believe? How dare you? Believe in me! Fear me! Fear the Darkness and Shadows and Monsters!_

_Come away, little girl-child. Let's play a game._

**_Hush now dear children, it must be this way_ **   
**_to weary of life and Deceptions,_ **   
**_Rest now my children, for soon we'll away_ **   
**_into the calm and the Quiet._ **

**_Come little children, I'll take thee away_ **   
**_into a land of Enchantment,_ **   
**_Come little children, the time's come to play_ **   
**_here in my garden of Shadows._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Come Little Children" is either a poem written by Edgar Allen Poe, or a song written by Brock Walsh. The version used in this chapter can be heard performed by katethegreat19 on youtube (and can also be heard in a video showcasing all the creepy children of Supernatural).


	7. Take Me Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'And with near-perfect timing, the two men were nearly mowed down by a flash of colour speeding past. Morgan could thank his reflexes for keeping him on his feet as a small girl in Hello Kitty pajamas and a fluffy purple coat ran by, dragging a man in a leather jacket by the hand.'

The power went out again at nearly one in the morning, but Garcia had thought ahead after the first time. Half a dozen candles lit the small room in the station with a warm, soft light. Why she'd had them with her they hadn't asked, but Rossi could guess based on the scent of lavender slowly filling the room. The woman herself cursed and glared at her laptop, seeming to take personal offence at the machine's sudden betrayal.

It might have been her sudden curse that startled Reid, but Rossi had begun to notice that the younger agent didn't much like the dark.

When the lights finally flickered back to life, the tech analyst's gaze still promised a violent death to her slowly rebooting computer, much to her team's amusement. Rossi's phone suddenly vibrated, distracting him, as he received a text from Prentiss warning that she and Morgan had been held up when the streetlights went out and nearly caused an a few accidents. When JJ and Reid's phones alerted them too, he suspected she'd texted each of them in hopes that at least one would go through.

Reid and JJ went back to work as soon as their eyes had adjusted to the brighter lights again but Rossi left to find Hotch. He wasn't hard to find; he and Eagan were going over a large map in the sheriff's office. Eagan was marking places that his people had already searched and answering Hotch's questions about the area so they could set up a geographic profile.

Before he could interrupt a phone in the office rang, calling everyone's attention. Rossi felt his heart sink as a young deputy picked it up and was cut off in the middle of his scripted greeting. Everyone was silent, as if they thought they could hear the other half of the conversation if tried hard enough. The young man listened intently before raising his free hand to rake through his hair. Pale and resigned, he raised his head to meet the sheriff's eyes. Eagan was reaching for his own phone before the call could even be transferred.

"Sheriff Eagan - Ren? ... Alright, where are you staying? Ren, take a breath... But they're okay? Good. I'm sending someone ahead, but I'm leaving now. Okay, just try and st - I know that, but panicking won't help anyone." He hung up and heaved a sigh, scrubbing his hands over his face. With a steadying breath, he rose to his feet. His deputies were already preparing to leave.

"We have another victim," he called, wincing at the word and grabbing his jacket. He pointed at a young African-American woman and an older man with dark, grey-shot hair. "Jones, Everett, you're with me. Stewart, take Smith with you and get the dogs." The oldest man and the young one who'd answered the phone started toward the kennels.

"Blackbird Motel!" he called after them before turning back to Jones. "Who's out that way tonight?"

"Noble and Williams."

"Call them. They'll get there before us."

By the time sheriff Eagan had returned his attention to Rossi and Hotch, the latter was getting off the phone with Prentiss. There are only two motels and a small Bed and Breakfast in Lyndfield; it won't take them long to find it.

"Alright, you two," he said in a tone that commanded even their attention, "One of you can ride with me. I'll fill you in on the way; you relay it to the rest of your team. Fair?"

Not wasting any time, Hotch left with JJ and Reid while Rossi climbed into the sheriff's range rover. Ignoring the man's comment about getting them all radios, Rossi set up a conference call with the others as they drove. After Reid and Prentiss confirmed they could hear, though with some interference on Prentiss' side, he looked to Eagan and gave him the okay.

"The girl's name is Kanade Akiyama; fourteen years old. She disappeared during the blackout with her brother and sister in the room. My people will take a look soon as they get there, but if this is the same guy there might not be much to see." His hands tightened on the steering wheel, white-knuckled. "Grew up with her daddy, Ren. Small town. He moved to Japan after graduation and met Noriko, got married; now he brings her and the kids 'round for a visit sometimes.

Granny Akiyama passed 'bout a week ago. They're in town for her funeral. And now this... Don't know who would want to make trouble for them. Nice family, clever kids."

**-X-**

Morgan and Prentiss did reach the motel before them. They were already speaking to a young Asian couple and an older Native American woman when the sheriff and the rest of the BAU team pulled up. Morgan spotted them and excused himself to jog over, passing JJ as she left to deal with the curious watchers taking pictures with their phones. The sheriff immediately went to join Prentiss.

"Boss," Morgan greeted Hatch before quickly explaining the situation, "The owner, Gina Irving, gathered up everyone staying at the motel or living nearby to help comb the woods, and the dogs out there now. Haven't heard anything back yet. I'm guessing from the level of organization that this isn't that uncommon?" He raised a questioning eyebrow at the sheriff with his last observation and received a nod.

"Kids wander into the woods all the time, 'round here. Not all of 'em find their own way back."

"Right, well. The other kids, Kai and Yuki, _were_ in the room with Kanade but they apparently didn't see or hear anything." Noticing Rossi's wandering gaze he said, "They're out with the search party. Parents let them go so they weren't in the way. Mrs. Irving sent her son to check the backup generator when it didn't work, but he didn't find anything.

"Something about this case just isn't sitting right with me, Hotch. Taking a fourteen year old girl like that with no one noticing; that takes planning. The Akiyamas only got here three days ago."

Hotch nodded thoughtfully and sent Reid and Rossi to take a look at the room before turning back to Morgan. "We'll still need to talk to the brother and sister. How long have they been gone?"

"Gina said it's been over an hour, so someone should be bringing them back soon." And with near-perfect timing, the two men were nearly mowed down by a flash of colour speeding past. Morgan could thank his reflexes for keeping him on his feet as a small girl in Hello Kitty pajamas and a fluffy purple coat ran by, dragging a man in a leather jacket by the hand. An even taller man and a morose young teen followed at a more reasonable pace.

"Sorry about that," the tall man said with a boyish smile, holding a hand out to the agents, "Sam."

"SSA Hotchner and SSA Morgan," Hotch introduced and Sam's eyebrows rose at the titles. "FBI, Behavioural Analysis Unit. We were sent to investigate the recent child abductions in the area. You were part of the search, I take it?"

"Yeah," His hands drifted to his pockets. A defensive gesture? "My brother and I are staying at the motel and we wanted to help, so we agreed to keep an eye on Kai and Yuki."

The sullen boy at his side saw their attention being drawn to him and raised his chin, surveying them with dark eyes. He was only fourteen himself, Kanade's twin, and probably trying to keep a brave face.

"Kai Akiyama, right? I understand you were with your sister during the blackout?" he met Hotch's eyes but stayed silent, "Do you mind if we ask you a few questions? We could call over your parents if you want."

Kai sighed. "It will not help. The police asked, but Yuki and I saw nothing. My sister was there, and then gone."

Yuki ran up, still dragging Sam's brother behind her, and tugged insistently on Sam's sleeve until he crouched. He still towered over the diminutive girl, but she seemed pleased.

"Mr. Sammy! I was right! I was right!" she cheered excitedly before slipping into rapid Japanese.

"Hey, slow down there, kitty. We can't understand you when you do that," the other man reminded, ruffling her hair.

"Aah, sorry Mr. Dean, nya~."

Kai gave an annoyed huff and muttered, "You're not a cat," under his breath. His sister stuck her tongue out at him.

"But I _was_ right! It is Kanade's bracelet."

Glancing at the parents, Morgan could see Prentiss and the sheriff still speaking to them. After a moment, Prentiss broke away to come their way while Eagan pulled out his radio to give directions for the dogs to be taken to the area the bracelet had come from.

When she reached them, Prentiss smiled pleasantly at the two children.

"Hello. I'm Emily Prentiss; I didn't get a chance to introduce myself before you ran off." Yuki immediately ducked behind the two brothers as Sam stood back up, peaking cautiously from behind their legs. Kai just rolled his eyes at his sister's actions.

"I'm Yuki. Are you really a police woman?"

"One better; I'm and FBI agent."

"You're a secret agent?" the girl's eyes widened in wonder, "Do you have a badge?"

"Of course," Prentiss said, "Want to see?" At Yuki's nod she pulled her badge from her pocket and handed it over. The five year old made a show of scrutinizing it before handing it back.

"It's real," she announced confidently.

"Do you mind if we ask you a few questions about last night?"

Yuki glanced at her brother for help and then mimicked his nod.

**-X-**

Rossi and Reid flashed their badges out of habit as they passed Deputy Jones at the door. It was a small room, typical of motels, with two unmade beds and a scattering of clothes that told of the three children staying there. As Noble and Williams had reported, there was no obvious sign of struggle and neither the door nor window had had any damage done to their locks.

Rossi felt his phone vibrate as he examined the window and pulled it out. Reading the text from Prentiss, his brow furrowed in thought and he called for Reid's attention.

"The kids are back, and they may have found something. They've confirmed that all three were in the room when the power went out and Kanade was gone by the time they came back on."

"The lights weren't out for long," Reid pointed out, "Assuming the power was out for about the same length of time here as it was at the station, then they were only out for about ten minutes." Rossi nodded and walked to the TV stand that took up most of one wall.

"Kai, the brother, was standing over by the window," he said with a gesture, "Kanade was here, I front of the TV. This is nearly the centre of the room. Yuki was on the bed closest to the door." Said bed was significantly more rumpled than its twin. Likely from a certain five-year-old's jumping, Rossi suspected.

"Whether you come through the window or the door, it would be far easier to take the other children," Reid surmised, putting words to Rossi's own thoughts, "To take Kanade they would have needed to get in, pass one of the others, grab her, and get back out. All without being heard or seen."

"Exactly."

"But there's no logical way to..." Reid trailed off, likely running various scenarios through his mind.

Rossi looked down at his again vibrating phone to see that JJ had sent him a photo. It was slightly grainy from zooming, obviously taken from some distance, but he could still make out the image easily. Two young men were standing with a boy and a small, colourful girl and talking to Morgan and Prentiss. A message that came soon after said: "They look familiar?"

He hesitated and held the phone out to Reid. The genius' eyes widened in disbelief before he typed out a quick reply and turned for the door. He was nearly out before he remembered to return Rossi's phone.

The older agent glanced at Reid's answer with a sinking feeling. One word.

"Winchester."

**-X-**

One of the first lessons Dean had learned as a hunter was to always be alert, and it had saved him more than once over the years. It was only thanks to years of experience that Dean was able to keep an eye on their surroundings, watch Kai and Yuki (he had promised their parents and Gina, and he still couldn't shake the feeling of being watched), and still keep an eye on the FBI agents. They seemed decent and he and Sam shouldn't be on their radar thanks to their recent 'deaths', but his instincts were still screaming to get the hell out a dodge.

He smirked when he heard Yuki say 'Mr. Sammy' again, knowing that Sam didn't like it but was too nice to tell the girl. He could practically feel Sam's glare when he'd introduced them. Dean tried to hold onto the smirk when he saw the agents checking their phones and glancing at he and his brother. He gave up all pretense of not noticing when he saw the male agent's had stray toward his gun and by the time the weapon was pointed at him, he'd already shoved Yuki behind him away from the guns.

Dean nearly went for his own gun before remembering that it was back in their room, and while the knife in his boot may be good enough against a creature they knew little about, literally bringing a knife to a gun fight was not on his bucket list. Not that it hadn't worked out for him before, of course.

"We'll do this the hard way if we have to," Prentiss announced, gun now trained on Sam. From the corner of his eye, Dean could see two more men coming around the side of the hotel.

"I dunno, in my experience the hard way's sometimes the fun way." Her eyes narrowed but her eyes didn't leave Sam.

"Let the girl go and put your hands up," Morgan ordered. Let the... Oh, Yuki was still clutching his hand tightly.

"Yuki, I want you to go over to your brother. Just stay behind me and Sam and you'll be fine, understand?"

"But -"

"C'mon, it's like a game. Fast as you can." He squeezed her fingers lightly and go the same in response before she took off as fast as she could and toppled over Kai.

As the agents cautiously lowered their guns and came forward, Dean was already anticipating the sharp bite of the handcuffs. He was not expecting that stubborn bundle of Hello Kitty to run back out spitting angry Japanese at the FBI. He'd never learned more than a few Shinto prayers, but judging from the scandalized expression on her mother's face and the pride on her brother's, they were not words a five year old ought to know - if your last name wasn't Winchester, at least.

Clearly she was too clever to fall for the 'just a game excuse for long.

"Yuki, get back," he ordered.

"No! You promised to find my big sister. You _can't_ leave."

Dean sighed. He could easily move her himself, but it would probably get him shot. Her family couldn't get to her without coming into the line of fire, though her brother looked ready to try until his father grabbed his arm and held him back.

Dean moved slowly so that the agents could see what he was doing and unwrapped a bracelet from his wrist. It was a newer one he'd picked up during a hunt; a long braid of dark leather with a handful of turquoise beads woven into it. Still moving with caution he wrapped the charm around her wrist and tied it. While it only fit on his own wrist twice, it took more than double that to be sure it wouldn't slip off the tiny child's.

"There," he stood back up and resisted the urge to shove his hands in his pockets, "I'll come back for that, okay? So you keep it as insurance." She still looked skeptical, but allowed him to step around her and back into the line of fire. Her mother called her name and Yuki hesitated only a moment more before darting back to her family.

The agents took their chance before there could be another interruption. Soon the Winchesters were cuffed, read their rights, and escorted to a nearby police car to be hand delivered to the sheriff's station. Same old song and dance.

The digital clock in the car displayed a neon green 2:48. They'd arrived in Lyndfield mid-morning, and now everything had gone to hell.

That had to be some kind of record.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And two paths finally cross. By the way, if any of the deputies seem familiar, that is because they are all tributes to/expies of the Doctor's companions and friends from BBC's Doctor Who.


	8. It's the Fear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "We are profilers for the FBI's Behaviour Analysis Unit. We track down some of the worst criminals in America."
> 
> "And this is out. Of. Your. League."

Garcia was not having a good day. Her babies kept dying thanks to these blackouts and, because of that, she was no help in finding other people's missing babies. So when Prentiss opened the door to her temporary lair it was a godsend - even more so when she caught sight of two gorgeous young men on the other side before it closed.

"Garcia, can -"

"I think I'll be asking the questions, thank you. First question: where did they come from? Second: can I have one?"

Prentiss sighed but Garcia could see the amused glint in her eyes. Good, she always felt a sense of accomplishment when she managed to brighten her friends' days even a bit.

"They're our suspects. And I think you know the second answer."

"Oh..." Face of an Angel, Mind of a Demon.

"Think you can get all the information we have on Sam and Dean Winchester, Baby girl?" Morgan asked, appearing in the doorway.

Garcia smirked and made a show of shaking out her hands before turning dramatically in her chair to face her laptop.

"Must you even ask?"

"Alright then. Call me when you're -"

"Done." Both Morgan and Prentiss both looked at her in surprise; a feeling she shared, really. Even with her, frankly, amazing skills, she hadn’t expected results that quickly.

"You might want to call Hotch," she suggested, looking over the files quickly. The photos definitely looked like the two men they'd brought in only moments ago, but they'd apparently died months ago.

**-X-**

Hotch stood in the small room overlooking the two occupied interrogation rooms. They were surprisingly well equipped for such a small station. The taller man, Sam, who'd seemed so easygoing earlier, now seemed impatient and kept shifting with a nervous energy.In the opposite room Dean looked more bored than anything. Lazily resting his head on one fist, he almost appeared to be sleeping. They'd decided to leave them until the team had gone over their files.

He took one last glance at Noble and Smith, who'd come back with them to work the equipment, and left the room. It wasn’t hard to find JJ, who was already helping Garcia with a projector and screen for her laptop.

Drawing the woman's attention, he asked, "How did you recognize them?" Hotch himself didn’t remember seeing them before, though the name 'Winchester' did sound familiar for reasons other than guns.

"About a year ago the agent in charge, Victor Henricksen, started sending me their files. They weren’t considered a priority at the time so they wound up pushed behind other cases. Then we went after Hankel..." She glanced at Reid too quickly for him to notice. "It wound up being forgotten.

"When Henricksen contacted me again, I asked Gideon and Reid to do a rough profile for him. He still sent me files once in a while, but I haven’t heard from him in nearly a year now."

"I looked into his file too," Garcia spoke up, "There was an incident about a month ago. Henricksen had caught and detained the Winchesters in Colorado, but the helicopter set to transport then was destroyed during takeoff. Before they could send another transport the entire station exploded. No survivors."

"Arson?"

"Gas leak, apparently. No suspicion of foul play."

"It's still possible the investigators had it wrong," said Rossi, "Are the Winchesters wanted for arson at all?"

Garcia glanced at her screen again and enlarged the information for them to see. "Are they ever. Multiple counts of arson, credit fraud, grave desecration, assault, assault with a weapon, theft, and suspected homicide, among others."

"What, no jaywalking?" Morgan asked, looking over one of the many files that JJ was printing.

"If Henricksen though it was worth it, it would probably be there too."

Hotch cleared his throat pointedly and they fell silent. "Garcia, what do we have on them?"

The technical analyst quickly pulled up their most recent mug shots of the two men.

"Dean Winchester; born in January of 1979 to John and Mary Winchester in Lawrence, Kansas. Samuel Winchester followed in May, 1983. Mary died in a house fire that November.

"John stuck around for a month or two before taking the boys on the road. They show up across the US in schools, reports from CPS - never followed through before they'd take off again - and a few police reports. They'd never stay in one place for long.

"Sam splits off from the other two in 2001 to go to Stanford for pre-law, full ride. He left in 2005 after his girlfriend died in... a house fire."

"Any connection to the mother?"

"Henricksen suspected a connection but couldn't prove it; but after his wife died Winchester insisted she'd been murdered. Police ruled both as accidents."

She pulled up a mug shot of an older man that was easily recognizable as family. "Corporal John Winchester from Normal, Illinois. Left school to join the Marines, then became a mechanic and married Mary, and - if Henricksen was right - a practitioner of the occult. Presumed dead."

"Reid, what did you and Jason decide?" Hotch asked.

"The Winchesters appear to share the delusion that the world is full of supernatural creatures. They were raised to believe that it's their duty to fight them.

"Mostly, this seems to involve burning the corpses of those they believe to be ghosts, and stealing or destroying artifacts believed to be cursed; but if this 'creature' takes the form of, for example, a vampire..."

"So they think they're, what, some kind of Buffy?" Morgan asked.

"In a sense, yes. If witnesses are to be believed, they did sometimes go after legitimate threats. While going through the cases associated with the family Gideon and I also noticed that credit records and witness statements usually put them in the area _after_ the initial crimes had already been committed.

"However, our resources were limited because most witnesses refuse to speak about the Winchesters."

"Fear?" Reid shook his head.

"Most truly believed that the Winchesters had helped them. Those who actually spoke to Henricksen's team would either straight out deny their involvement or defend them.

"Despite our limited information we were able to put together rough profiles for each. They often fulfil the criteria of vigilante killers, but some of the crimes they're accused of also contain sacrificial and religious elements.

"The two of them are also dangerously co-dependent and will both go to great lengths to protect each other. At the time we judged Dean to be the more dominant personality and so long as nothing has changed in their dynamic, Sam may be the easier one to turn.

"However, Gideon did caution Henricksen against attempting to drive a wedge between them in case it provoked further violence."

"They're both in custody and separated," Prentiss said, "If we want to take a shot at it, this is probably our best chance."

"We still need to focus on our current case," Rossi pointed out.

"We'll have time for the rest later," Hotch agreed, "Prentiss, David, I want you to question Sam Winchester; Morgan and Reid can handle Dean. I'll get in touch with the sheriff and see how the search is going. JJ, I want you to head back ahead of us; keep an eye on things there. Make sure that any media that's gotten there while we've been gone doesn't do more harm than good."

**-X-**

When Morgan and Reid walked into interrogation they met with the sight of Dean Winchester balanced on the back legs of his chair and playing with a paperclip, which should have been impossible if his hands were still cuffed to the table as they'd left him.

The man looked up as they entered, offering them a smirk and a small wave. Morgan, less than amused, dropped the case file on metal table with a satisfying smack. Winchester didn't beyond a raised eyebrow and Morgan circled around him, forced his chair down harshly, and reattached the cuffs to his wrists. Dean rolled his eyes but didn't protest.

"Dean Winchester," Morgan said, sitting across from him and opening the file, "You've got quite a reputation behind you."

"I swear, only the good things are true... well, mostly."

"What are you and your brother doing in Lyndfield?"

"Just passing through? Yeah, even I don't buy that one."

"If you don't mind," Reid said, drawing the other man's attention, "we'd just like to ask you a few questions regarding the recent disappearances of children in the area."

**-X-**

"You mean Kanade wasn't the only one?" Sam asked. Went the two agents had walked in, he'd been fidgeting impatiently. Now he stilled and let surprise colour his features.

"I sincerely hope you aren't expecting us to believe that," Prentiss said in an almost bored drawl. Rossi leaned forward and placed Sam's fake FBI badge in the table with a click.

"We know you've been investigating this case as well, 'Agent Callahan'," he said, "We just want to know if you found something we didn't."

Sam scoffed. "Right, and then you'll let my brother and I go? I sincerely hope you don't expect me to believe that."

**-X-**

"There are five missing children out there," Morgan stood and leaned forward with his hands planted on the table, "We are quickly running out of time to find them and I am telling you to give us any information you have."

"Ooh, scary. You practice that in the mirror? Sorry, man, but you're out of your league on this one."

"We are profilers for the FBI's Behaviour Analysis Unit. We track down some of the worst criminals in America."

"And this is out. Of. Your. League."

**-X-**

"Because it's something supernatural, right Sam?" The man raised an eyebrow at Prentiss. "You and your brother hunt monsters, don't you? We're hunting a monster too, and we need to work fast. If you don't help us, we may lose these kids."

"It would help if you let us go so we could do our job."

"So you know what's been taking the children?" Rossi asked.

**-X-**

"A ghost?" Morgan asked sceptically.

"Nah, a ghost doesn’t have this kind of power, and it's got way too big hunting ground. This one's been changed, corrupted, by the way it went out."

"How convenient. And how did you figure this out?"

"The usual: unexplained disappearances, cold spots, EMF... the biggest give away was the lights." Dean smirked as Reid glanced at the now flickering lights.

"Normal spirits cause trouble with the electricity, too, but this one... this one _needs_ the dark. It's where it's most powerful; where it can cause the most fear."

"Fear?" That sounded familiar, at least. If you eliminated the supernatural it sounded like the profile they'd begun to put together.

"It feeds on it. Kids' fear is almost like a drug." Definitely similar to their profile. "Though, I'm not sure why it would come here."

"What?"

"To the station," Dean said, as though it should be obvious, "There are no kids here, and it just took another one tonight." He glanced at the light again and Reid almost automatically followed his gaze.

"But it looks like... it's... here..." Morgan raised an eyebrow and the younger man shrugged. "Figured it might have a sense of humour. Ah well, it was worth a sh-"

The station went dark.

**-X-**

"Not bad, Sammy," Dean cheered when he met his brother in the parking lot. Sam looked surprised.

"I didn't get out until after the lights went down. I though you did it."

"Guess it has a sense of humour, after all," Dean muttered, looking around futilely for his Impala. Damn, the agents must have left her at the motel. "C'mon Sam, start walking. Sooner we get to baby, the sooner we can track this thing."

Then he noticed the puffs of pale mist that accompanied his and Sam's breath. It had been a mild day and hadn't been this chilly in the woods earlier. The brothers shared a look.

"You've got to be kidding me."

Someone in the station screamed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with this we're all caught up to the FF version, so updates will be slower. Especially as I have two more finals this week, but after that I'm free!
> 
> Also, each of my chapter titles, as some of you have probably figured out, come from songs that I listened to while writing: Help Is On the Way (Rise Against), Hymn for the Missing (Red), Longest Night (Howie Day), Come Little Children (katethegreat19), Take Me Away (Globus), It's the Fear (Within Temptation)
> 
> The monster reveal's coming up; I wonder if anyone's figured it out yet...


	9. Shadows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Pull yourself together, Penelope," she scolded. Making her decision, Garcia slipped her high heels off and placed them beside her desk. She hesitated. This was a very bad idea.
> 
> Her stockinged feet made hardly a sound as she crept down the hall.

Garcia bit back a curse as the power cut out again. She was starting to wonder if Hotch had made the right decision in bringing her with the team. It would have been hard to contact them, but at least she would have all her equipment.

She froze and tilted her head, listening. _What is that?_ She stood up, slowly feeling her way to the door.

Garcia heard it again as she gripped the handle. It sounded like someone was laughing - no. It was higher than that, like a child's giggling. There shouldn't be any kids here, especially at this time of night. It's not as if this case wasn't already straight from a horror movie.

"If this is a joke, my vengeance will _not_ be swift," she threatened under her breath, then raised her voice, "Hello? Emily? Derek? Guys?"

Bracing herself, she twisted the handle and pushed. The bullpen was empty, lit only by the pale moonlight casting long shadows around the room. The sudden lack of sound was not nearly as comforting as it might have been. What was it they said about nothing good happening after two a.m.?

The sudden sound of a door opening and closing before hurried footsteps came her way made Garcia duck back as a figure ran by. She couldn’t see him well in the dim light, but judging by the height it was probably the younger Winchester - Sam. Another door opened but no one followed the man out the front.

Taking a breath she peeked around the door frame and saw a sliver of light from the hall leading to the interrogation rooms. There were no windows that way, so someone must have gone through the kennels' at the end and left the door open.

Something flickered in the corner of her eye and she whirled around to face - nothing. Just more shadows.

"Pull yourself together, Penelope," she scolded. Making her decision, Garcia slipped her high heels off and placed them beside her desk. She hesitated. This was a _very_ bad idea.

Her stockinged feet made hardly a sound as she crept down the hall.

Before Garcia could touch the door, a hand landed on her shoulder. She whipped around with a startled scream and a raised hand. Morgan caught her wrist in a firm grip before she could make contact.

"Whoa there, Garcia," he said as her eyes widened and her breathing returned to normal, "Just me. Been working on that arm? You almost got me."

"Sorry. Ah! The Winchesters are -"

"Gone. We'll get 'em. _You_ are staying here."

"Morgan," Reid called, coming out into the hall, "Didn't catch him?"

"Got out the back. What took you so long?"

Moonlight glinted on metal as Reid held up a hand. He smiled sheepishly.

"Handcuffs. He left the key, at least," his gaze shifted to the third agent, "Garcia? What are you doing back here?"

"I thought I heard -" The giggle came again, from back toward the bullpen. "That."

Morgan gestured for them to be quiet as he and Reid reached for their guns. Garcia followed them as they moved down the hall, careful not to make a sound even when the other doors rattled as they passed. Garcia would guess at electric or automatic locks, but that wouldn’t explain how Morgan and Reid had gotten out, or the Winchesters.

Morgan carefully scanned the room, gun up and ready, but it was Garcia that spotted it. She gently nudged Reid to get his attention and pointed toward the window.

In one corner, just out of the light's reach, there was a small figure. Dark clothing and hair made them nearly blend into the shadows.

"Morgan," Reid whispered, nodding to the figure. It looked like a kid, so both men lowered their guns - though they hesitate to holster them. There was an odd tension in the air that made the hair on Garcia's arms stand on end.

"Hello?" Morgan called softly, trying not to startle the kid, "My name is Derek Morgan. How'd you get here this late? Are you lost?"

The kid started giggling again, sending a chill up Garcia's spine.

"Lost, lost~ Are you lost?" It - he? - cooed, shaking with another giggle. When he turned toward them they saw that the boy wasn’t just wearing all black. He was as dark as the shadows themselves from head to foot and looked almost wispy around the edges. Bright red eyes seemed to glow as he smiled, showing off stark white pointed teeth.

The three took a step back in surprise.

"Would you like to play?" It asked, still speaking in that sickeningly sweet voice. When no one answered, its eyes narrowed and its voice turned sharp.

"We're going to play," It declared with a vicious grin. Before their eyes it melted into the shadows, completely disappearing, and its voice echoed from all around them. "Hide and seek. I'll be the demon!"

They stood frozen for a moment before Morgan finally broke the tense silence. "Garcia, Reid, get outside," he hesitated before continuing in the tone of one that could not believe the words coming out of his own mouth, "Stay in the open, away from the shadows. I'll get the others out."

The younger agents hesitated but raced for the door as soon as he'd disappeared down the hall. They were brought to an abrupt halt, however, when the shadow-boy materialised right in front of the door. Garcia was quick to get out of Reid's line of fire as he raised his gun.

"That's cheating," it hissed, seething. As they looked on in shock, the shadow-boy's body elongated and rearranged itself until they were faced with a giant snake rearing in front of them.

Reid fired twice but the bullets passed harmlessly through the creature as it struck. They flung themselves to the ground as it flew past, sinking into another shadow as easily as water.

Garcia scanned the room frantically and grabbed for Reid's arm. Between two windows, the creature rose up again - vaguely humanoid, but for the still huge fangs it displayed. Wisps of shadow coiled around it as it prepared to lunge again, taking on a more canine shape before it pounced.

The door opened with a snap and an iron pipe was swung through the creature's head. As it dissipated, Dean Winchester smirked and propped the pipe on his shoulder.

"So, who's afraid of the big bad wolf?"

... Garcia was pretty sure that no children in her care would _ever_ be told stories of Little Red Riding Hood or the Three Little Pigs. Reid blinked, gripping his gun so tightly that his knuckles were white.

"Hey, kid, where's your friend?" Dean's question finally shook Reid out of his shock.

"How did - I should arrest you," he snapped, reaching desperately for some sense of normality.

"Bigger picture. Where is your friend?"

Before he could even decide whether or not to answer, they heard a gunshot from the interrogation rooms. After sharing a look the four of them took off running, the Winchesters in front with their makeshift weapons.

What they found was not Morgan being attacked by that thing, but that the man had managed to shoot the hinges off one of the doors. From the sound of banging on the other side, it hadn't helped. The door still wouldn't budge so much as an inch, as if something was holding it closed.

Garcia sighed in relief before she saw the shadows shift behind Morgan's back. Sam must have noticed, too, raising his pipe and moving forward.

"Derek, down!" she yelled and his trained reflexes saved him Sam's pipe was swung like a baseball bat just over his head. The thing disappeared like smoke with outraged shriek when the iron struck it.

Dean tossed a spare pipe to Morgan as the agent stood. Despite his surprise, he easily caught it.

"Hope you have a good arm," Sam said, setting to work on the last door with a set of lock picks, "You might still need it. The door might move now that it's gone."

"What the hell was that?"

"Boogeyman," Sam said matter-of-factly, not looking up from his task. "Hope no one's afraid of the dark."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter than usual, but I think you've waited long enough. It would seem I've become the kind of author I never wanted to be: the ones that take so long to update. I'm sorry. But my first year of uni is over, I'm free(-ish), and we have finally reached the point in my story where I have a lot of notes to work off of.   
> On the other hand I have a whole shelf of books to read before I get stuck with text books again, a bunch of Tales of games to beat and I'll finally have time to play through KH1.5 and finish DDD... I got a busy summer ahead.
> 
> I actually have some notes this time:
> 
> (1)" I'll be the demon!" - In Japan they sometimes call the 'it' in hide-and-seek an 'oni', which is often translated as demon.
> 
> (2) The Boogeyman is a creature that appears in almost every culture around the world. They are often believed to be shape shifters, eat children (or their fear), target disobedient children, etc. I will post my more extensive notes at the end of the last chapter (I did way more research than I needed to, but it was interesting - so no regrets).


	10. Start Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean supposed the agents all had a right to frayed nerves after their first meet and greet with the supernatural. Newbies.

"'The Boogeyman' doesn't exist," Morgan protested, his expression a mixture of disbelief and anger.

"Right," Dean said with a drawl, "Just keep a hold of that pipe or something that doesn’t exist is going to kick your ass. Man, that'd be embarrassing.

Dean looked to his brother as the tumblers of the lock finally clicked into place. "Took you that long? Losing your edge there, Sammy."

"Shut up," Sam said with a huff. He stood and stepped away from the door just in time to avoid it as it opened. Dean would have laughed at the startled expression on his face, if it weren’t for the gun, held by one of the agents inside, being aimed steadily at him.

"Morgan, what's going on?" the man demanded. His lethal stare shifted only briefly toward the other agents.

"Long story, Hotch." Right, that was his name. Rhymes with scotch.

"Which can be explained later," Sam pointed out, "If you're done pointing a gun at my brother, now would be a great time to make sure the monster we pissed off can't come back."

The man's face tightened in what Dean suspected was an attempt to hide his surprise. Behind him, one of the agents behind him must have given him some sort of signal because the gun was slowly lowered and holstered.

"Good. First, we'll need a lot of salt. The rock salt for ice should work. Someone should also go out and grab a few more pipes. We got lucky, there's a load of pure iron ones in the blue pick up outside."

The kid behind Hotch paled and covered his face with his hands. "Mum's gonna kill me," he groaned.

"Better her than the Boogeyman," Dean said cheerfully before turning to the agent in charge, "So, Hotch-"

"It's Agent Hotchner," the man corrected firmly.

"Whatever you say 'Agent Hotchner'. They're your agents, so it's up to you and them what all of you do or don't do. But I would suggest following my brother's advice and saving the hostilities for later. Deal?"

Hotch gave him a considering look. "Deal, but I'm keeping an agent on each of you at all times."

"So long as they can keep up."

**-X-**

By the time all the windows and doors had been salted the lights had already come back on. Reid's sigh of relief had been heard across the room, even though the Boogeyman had only made two more appearances in that time. Dean supposed the agents all had a right to frayed nerves after their first meet and greet with the supernatural. Newbies.

They had adjusted pretty well though, especially that Rossi guy. Older guys were usually harder to convince - not that he would ever imply that the man was old to his face. He'd seen Caleb learn that the hard way with Pastor Jim. Being a man of God, it turned out, did not stop you from smacking a teenager upside the head when he says something stupid.

Now they all sat in the bullpen clutching mugs of coffee and rubbing tired eyes. Well, most of them; Dean hadn't seen that smith kid's eyes open in a while.

"How is this even possible," Hotch asked, rubbing his forehead. At least his doubt had been pretty well destroyed when he'd swung a pipe through the creature himself.

"Well, Hotch-" the man shot him a pointed look, "-ner, do you want the long or short version?"

Before he could answer the one with the goatee, Rossi, spoke. "Just give us the long version. Get it over with."

"It's like we told your agents before," Sam said, "Some spirits don't pass on when they die. They stick around as ghosts and, eventually, start taking out their anger and regrets on the living.

"But some of them are special, like a Woman in White or a Boogeyman. The method and reason for their death changed from regular spirits to something else entirely."

"See, a Boogeyman can be created when a kid is killed by their abusive parents," Dean explained, "Not always, but sometimes. That's why they target other kids who've disobeyed their parents. Usually, they still remember that 'bad kids' get punished. At least, that's what our source thinks."

"That would explain some of the victims," Reid said, opening a couple of files with one hand as he downed another cup of coffee, "Matthew Kelly was a frequent runaway and got in trouble for fighting, Dante Green was causing trouble at school - nothing that got him worse  than a detention, but still."

"And I heard Kanade arguing with her mom when we fist checked in," Sam told them, "It didn't sound like the first time."

"But what about the other two?" Morgan asked, "Danica Rogers' grandparents thought she could do no wrong, and Ellie Miller's seemed to be the same."

"Yeah, that was the impression we got," Dean said, not an ounce of guilt.

"They were out after dark," Prentiss said suddenly, "When I was little; one of my nannies would tell me that a woman would take me away if I didn't come inside before sunset. What I don't get is their ages. You said kids, and I heard these stories when I was really young. Ellie is ten; everyone else is older than that. Why wouldn't it go after someone younger?"

"This is a creature that has power because kids believe in it. They're right around the age when childhood fears stop mattering for most kids; when they stop believing," Sam grabbed a map off a nearby desk, "Now, our source says that if it feeds on enough fear it'll go dormant and we'll lose it. Last time it showed up was about fifty years ago and it took seven kids. That means we'll most likely have two chances before it and the kids are gone."

"Wonderful," Morgan sighed, rubbing a hand over his face, "Tell me you at least have some idea where this thing is keeping them."

"...Kind of," Sam pointed to a spot on the map near the bend of a road and right at the edge of an area of dense forest, "This is where the Blackbird Motel is now, but Mrs. Irving has an old newspaper article in the lobby. There used to be an inn there before it burned down and the land was sold.

"The owners, Richard and Anna Maxwell, were killed in the fire so I looked online just in case. Turns out, their eleven year old son, Thomas, died in an 'accident' sixty years ago. He fell down the stairs. Less than ten years later, the Boogeyman shows up."

"So they killed him and now he's the Boogeyman."

"That's our theory, anyway."

"That's as far as we got before Kanade was taken," Dean said, "Power went out before we could find out where the kid was buried."

"We're pretty sure he's keeping everyone somewhere in the woods near the motel," Sam assured them, "Sometimes when dad was gone on a really long hunt he would leave us with a friend of his. There was a cave I would hide in whenever I was mad. Well, until a cougar almost found me." Dean had wondered what they'd told Sam it was. He followed everyone's gazes to the map again. That was a lot of forest to comb through.

"I'll check with JJ; see if the search's found anything," Hotch announced, standing up moving away from everyone else with his phone.

"There are three cemeteries in town, but-" Sam began before he was interrupted by the colourful blonde woman.

"He's in Clearview."

When she felt their eyes on her she looked up and elaborated. "Thomas Maxwell is buried in Clearview Cemetery; the one closest to the beach."

Dean blinked and raised an eyebrow. "We _just_ gave you the name."

"Well, I had to wait for my system to reboot," she acknowledged with a small smirk.

"I don't think we were really introduced, Agent...?"

"Penelope Garcia. Technical Analyst."

"Well, Penny, you are a goddess."

"Sweetheart, you have _no_ idea."

The box of confiscated items suddenly rumbled violently, startling them all. Deputy Noble stood and opened it, pulling Dean's vibrating phone from inside.

"You have a call," she said, tossing it to him. He caught it and glanced at the caller ID curiously.

"Hey, Sammy, why are you calling me?"

"I forgot my phone in the motel room," Sam confessed with a shrug.

Dean gave the still buzzing phone a considering look before shrugging his shoulders and answering it.

"Mr. Dean? Are you there?" the voice on the other end asked, "When are you coming back?"

Young, female. Yuki? "I'm right here, Yuki. We'll be back soon, promise. Why do you have Sammy's phone?"

"... It was on the ground."

"...Where?" The girl hesitated again.

"... I dunno."

"How did you get in our room?"

"Kai unlocked the window - um."

"Oh. Tell him 'good job' for me, okay?"

Sam shot him a glare. "Stop corrupting them."

"Alright, alright. Yuki? We're heading back soon. You've still got that bracelet I gave you, right?"

"Of course. Oh, but one of the beads broke. I'm sorry." He bit back a curse.

"Is Kai still there with you?"

"Yeah, he's searching your bags."

"Don't tell him that!" He heard in the background.

"Oops."

"Never mind. There should be a big bag of salt near the door. I need the two of you to make a big ring of salt in the middle of the room. Make sure it's thick and solid, okay?"

"Why?"

"Do it. There should also be jugs of water in the bathroom. The ones with the beads in them. When you're done with the salt I need you to stay in the circle with that water until we get there. If anything moves, throw water on it."

"But, why?"

"Just trust me, okay? And don’t hang up the phone; just leave it in the circle."

There was a moment of silence until, finally, she agreed and set down the phone. Dean listened to her as she spoke to her brother before putting his own phone on the table and faced the expectant gazes of his brother and the FBI agents.

"Please don't suggest splitting up," Garcia said, not looking up from the satellite photos on her laptop screen, "Anyone who's seen Scooby Doo or a horror movie knows that's a bad idea."

"Well 'gang', some of you'll have to go to the grave to salt and burn this son of a bitch. The rest of us need to head back to the motel. Yuki and Kai are about to be its next victims."

"You're sure?" Prentiss asked, already grabbing her jacket.

"When you grabbed us, I gave Yuki a turquoise bracelet. If a bead is broken, that means -"

"An ill intentioned spirit has taken an interest in her," Smith interrupted, still half asleep and fading fast, "Mum's a professor of history at UMM. Turquoise supposed to be a protective charm for a lot of cultures, including several Native American groups." He yawned, not seeming to notice anyone's stares.

"Well," Sam said, standing abruptly, "Who's coming grave digging?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back~ Pretty dialogue heavy and a bit short, but the boys had a lot of explaining to do and I couldn't go further without an awkward ending to the chapter.  
> Only a few more chapters and we'll be done, so my thanks to everyone who's stuck through it with me. Good night and see you next chapter!


	11. Lost and Found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not everyone can have a happy ending.

Morgan wasn't sure how many laws Deputy Noble had broken in the drive across town - he was sure that her squad car was not meant to go on two wheels like that.

Seeing as the only ones in the car were herself, Morgan, Hotch, and Dean Winchester; all of whom were on their way to track down the lair of the Boogeyman... it was just one of many things that would never make it into the paperwork.

Rocks and grass shot up in an arch from the tires as the woman turned sharply into the parking lot, clipping the side of the road and leaving a deep scar. It was only through luck and practice that none of her passengers stumbled as they practically leapt from the car.

From the corner of his eye, Morgan saw JJ starting toward them but she was quickly intercepted by Noble. Trusting her to explain - or at least lie well enough to delay her - Morgan followed Dean and Hotch to the Winchesters' room.

When the electricity suddenly cut out just as they reached the door, Dean let out a stream of curses under his breath. This creature had a horrible sense of humour.

"Hurry up," Hotch urged as Dean dug in his pocket.

"I don't have the key," he growled, reaching instead for his lock picks.

However, before he could even start, they heard Yuki scream. Dean and Morgan shared a look before using their combined strength to kick in the door.

Inside, the two children were crouched in their circle of salt as the creature leapt from one shadow to another. It came as close to the salt as it could, trying to startle them out of the circle. Yuki screamed again as it reared up in front of her as a large snake and she flung a bottle of water at it. It shrieked and writhed as if in pain before giggling madly.

"I thought you said holy water might work!" Morgan yelled as he swung his pipe through the unsuspecting Boogeyman.

" _'Might'_. Thought it was better than nothing."

"Mr. Dean!" Yuki cried in relief, getting to her feet. Time almost seemed to slow as the girl attempted to reach the hunter. The Boogeyman and Kai noticed at the same moment when she stepped beyond the salt line, both leaping forward.

Kai grabbed his sister's arm and shoved her back into the circle, but put himself outside in the process.

"Kai! Onii-san!" Yuki screamed, slipping into Japanese in her distress. The three adults attempted to grab the boy but the creature reached him first, twisting shadows around his form and cutting off his scream before it could escape his throat. When the lights flickered back to life, he and the Boogeyman were gone.

Yuki sat in the salt circle, eyes wide and face pale, trembling. Morgan approached her with caution, calling her name softly. He was a bit worried by her lack of reaction.

Suddenly, the three men found themselves being splashed with water.

"Anything that moves," she mumbled, clutching the now-empty bottle like a lifeline.

"Yeah, sweetheart," he agreed calmly, blinking water out of his eyes. He reached out to take the bottle from her and pull her into a hug. "You did fine. We'll get him back."

He hoped he wasn't lying.

**-X-**

"I have a McCall back here," Prentiss called from a copse of small trees.

"At least we've found the 'M's," Sam muttered. When Garcia had told them that the cemetery wasn't too large and had been relatively new when Thomas had been buried, they'd been relieved. They hadn't considered how overgrown the back had become.

"Over here!" Reid called. Hi fingers carefully traced over the worn letters on a small headstone that had been partially covered by the bare branches of a bush. "The date's about right, too."

"Good job Reid," Prentiss said, digging her shovel into the ground, "We might get this done before the others even find the kids. Keep an eye out for that Boogeyman while we dig, alright?" Sam sent a quick text before joining her.

The younger agent sighed.

"Have I mentioned that you seem far too comfortable with this?"

**-X-**

"Rose and Jack are some of the best trackers we've had," Noble said, patting the two German Shepherds on the head, "But they were out there for hours and didn't find anything."

"True, but I'm not asking them to track anyone," Dean said, rolling a small black bead in his hand. It had been part of Kanade's bracelet, the one that Yuki had found in the woods last night. Kai must have had it on him when he'd been taken; with any luck he'd left a trail. It seemed that while the Boogeyman could hide its victims in shadows and keep them quiet, it couldn't transport them long distances at once.

"Dogs have a better sense of spirits. These two will see it coming long before we do."

JJ was left to take care of the other officers - and Dean had to admire how quickly she adapted to the situation. She showed no outward sign of doubt, instead trusting Hotch to explain later. Collecting shot guns and salt-rounds from the Impala, the group of four set off with the dogs trailing loyally at their heels.

They moved quietly through trees, on high alert, but there was no sign of the Boogeyman. As Dean had predicted, there was a patchy trail of beads leading to a steep rock wall.

"This is where we found the bracelet before," he muttered, pacing the base of the cliff with Jack trailing him. The dog barked sharply to get his attention and looked up.

"It can't be that easy..." Yeah, that shadowy dip about fifteen feet up could definitely be a cave.

Morgan followed his gaze. "I don't like your idea of easy."

"Race you to the top?"

"Just start climbing," Hotch ordered, tossing his suit jacket carelessly in the dirt and rolling up his sleeves.

The cliff side wasn't that hard to climb, at least not for them, but Dean had to wonder how an eleven year old made it. It must have changed pretty badly over the years. Morgan reached down to help Dean and Noble up onto the ledge while Hotch pulled out a flashlight.

Now that he was in front of it, it wasn’t surprising that they'd missed it in the dark. The entrance was barely taller than his waist and not quite tall enough for two adults to enter side by side. To a child, it would have seemed like a perfect hideaway.

Dean pulled out his phone when it buzzed, a bit surprised to get any signal, and sent a quick reply to Sam. "They're digging now," he relayed to the others, crouching next to them to better see inside the tunnel. It curved a few feet in, so they couldn't see very far.

"Let's go," Hotch said, starting forward. Even crouched, the tall man's hair slightly brushed the roof of the cave. Good thing Sam had gone to the cemetery.

**-X-**

Prentiss heard a wet, splintering sound as her shovel finally found the wood of Thomas Maxwell's coffin.

"We've got it," she called to Reid were he still stood on lookout, "Still clear?"

"No sign of it yet."

"Good," Sam said, clearing more dirt from the half-rotten lid, "With a bit of luck we'll have these bones burned before the others even find the lair."

**-X-**

The tunnel eventually opened up into a wide cavern with a sharp drop at the entrance. It wasn't high enough that it would be a challenge to get the kids into the tunnel; that would come when they got back outside. Hotch stopped just short of the drop and motioned for the others to do the same behind him.

In the absence of their footsteps he could hear faint whispering.

"Hello?" he called, voice level and calm so he didn't spook them.

"Kai?" Dean called from behind him.

"Dean? We're over here!"

Hotch swung his light toward the boys voice, finally landing on the small group of children. The Akiyama siblings looked to be in the best condition, having only been there for a few hours, and the Green boy sat on the ground with the Miller girl tucked into his side. While they looked exhausted and miserable, from a distance he couldn't see any obvious injuries.

The last two lay near the wall, unmoving.

He went to them first.

Hotch could hear Noble introducing herself to Dante, reminding him that she'd worked with his father. The boy must have remembered her, because when Hotch next looked over his shoulder the two local children had been pulled into a tight hug. He could also hear Dean having a quiet conversation with the Kanade and Kai.

Tuning them out, the agent was just able to hear Danica's shallow breathing. The girl's pulse, while weak, was steady under his fingers. The same could not be said for Matthew.

"Dante, do you know how long they've been like this?" he asked.

"The boy was like that when we got here," Dante said shakily, "But Dani was awake until a little before she showed up." He nodded his head toward Kanade.

Meeting Hotch's eyes, Morgan nodded and carefully lifted Danica. They'd be able to call for an ambulance as soon as they reached the cliff side and get her taken care of as soon as possible.

"Let's get out of here," he said to the other children as he ushered them toward the entrance, sending Noble ahead to make the call.

"What do we do with him?" Dean asked quietly. Hotch could see a familiar glint of guilt shining in the younger man's eyes, one he was far too used seeing in experienced agents who were forced to remember that they couldn't save everyone.

"We'll send someone out when we reach the motel. For now we need to focus on the ones we can still save."

Hotch's flashlight flickered, catching their attention.

"What are the chances it's just the batteries?" When Hotch sent him a look, Dean sighed and dropped his bag. Rooting around, he withdrew a handful of cheap plastic glow sticks.

"No electricity," he explained simply, tossing one to each of them. Soon the cave was dimly lit in neon colours.

There was no chilling laughter this time as eyes like burning coals glared at them from the darkness.

"Stealing is bad," it scolded, taking the form of Thomas Maxwell that they'd originally seen.

"So is kidnapping." Dean fired a salt round at it and the boogey man and it disappeared with a yell of surprise before rising up from another shadow next to Hotch.

"Give it back!" it screamed before a pipe was swung through it.

"Keep it away from the kids!" Hotch ordered, but Morgan didn't need to be told. He already had the children surrounded by a fragile circle of salt.

Kanade and Dante carefully held Danica between them while the younger two stood as close to them as possible. Kai held a pipe - Dean's - in front of him like a sword while Ellie had hidden her face in Dante's back, clutching a small ragged bear in one hand.

Hotch ducked as a snarling creature leapt at him. He couldn't see it properly but when he swept his above his head, the snarl was abruptly cut off.

"They should be done by now," Morgan said, scanning the shadows.

"I know," Dean replied, shooting a half formed shadow, "It should be going up like a damn roman candle!"

"Thieves!" the creature shrieked. It nearly got past when it dodged one of Morgan's shots, but put itself right into Hotch's reach.

"It's mine!" The plaintive whine of a child crept into its tone. Wait, _it_? Dean seemed to have noticed it too, glacing at the huddled group. His eyes widened in realization.

"Ellie," the girl looked up, teary-eyed. "That's your name, right? Did you find that bear here?" She nodded. "Alright."

The hunter smirked and fired one more shot at the Boogeyman. He lunged for his bag before it could reform, pulling out a small canister of salt and some lighter fluid.

"Toss me the bear," Dean held his hand out. The girl hesitated for only a moment before kicking the stuffed toy toward him like a soccer ball.

The creature that had once been Thomas Maxwell shrieked in rage as Dean soaked the old doll in fuel and sprinkled it with salt. The moment the match touched the material, both the toy and the Boogeyman went up in flames.

The cavern was lit up so brightly for a moment that Hotch had to close his eyes, but as quickly as it started the fire died down.

"Sometimes a spirit gets attached to an object," Dean explained before anyone could ask, "Sam and the others were taking too long."

"Can we go home now?" Ellie asked quietly, looking around in case the monster came back. Most likely they would be jumping at shadows for the next few weeks, and Hotch now wasn't sure it would be unwarranted. Dean reached out and ruffled her hair and she let out an indignant squeak.

"Yeah, kiddo. Let's get you home."

**"Demons run, but count the cost / The battle's won, but the child is lost**.” - Steven Moffat ( _Doctor Who_ )

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, there you go. (As you could tell: action? Not my forte) 
> 
> "Onii-san" - (Japanese) Older brother
> 
> Thank you for having patience with me as real life does not. All that's left is the epilogue and notes, which should be up soon. Also, SPN 10: HELL YEAH, MUSICAL EPISODE!!!


	12. The End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "So, do we get a head start?"

**"Demons run, but count the cost**  
**The battle's won, but the child is lost."**  
**\- Steven Moffat, _Doctor Who_**  
**( _A Good Man Goes to War_ )**

**-X-**

Rossi set down his phone and took a sip of coffee - fresh and hot. It should keep him awake until they got on their plane. Over the rim of his cup he saw Garcia watching him with a smile. He raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"You wanted to go with them."

"So did you."

"Yes," she admitted, "But _I_ am not a field agent. I guessed they would leave me behind."

"Someone had to stay behind and babysit the two of you," Rossi glanced pointedly at Smith, who was now struggling to keep his eyes open. When the young deputy noticed his gaze he sat up straighter in an attempt to seem more alert.

"The Boogeyman's been destroyed by the way," he said nonchalantly, taking another sip of his coffee, "How do you plan to explain the salt to the Sheriff?"

It took a moment for the information to really register in the young man's tired mind; when it did he leapt to his feet so quickly that his chair was knocked to the floor.

"Crap! There'll be nothing left of me for mum to kill!" he yelled, racing off in search of a broom.

Rossi hid his smirk in his coffee cup, but not before Garcia caught it.

"Don't take it out on him," she chided lightly. He shrugged.

"And stop pouting."

"I do not _pout._ " _And I am not_ old.

**-X-**

"So, do we get a head start?" Dean asked as he tossed his duffle into the Impala. Sam's bag joined it a moment later.

"According to the official reports, you two were never even here," Morgan said, "Just a couple of anonymous witnesses."

Sam shot him a look of disbelief. "Is anyone going to buy that?"

"The human mind tends to accept the most logical explanation that it's given," Reid explained, "So long as the false information makes more logical sense than the truth, then it should be fairly easy to convince -"

"Alright, Reid," Prentiss interrupted, "They've got to go." He looked a bit disappointed but fell silent.

"We're heading back to the station," JJ announced, leaving Hotch with the Sheriff in favour of joining them. She gave her team a pointed look. "And _you_ are going to tell me exactly what I missed."

Morgan laughed and threw an arm around her shoulders. "Let's wait 'til we get back to Quantico. I don't know about you, but I'm gonna need a drink."

"How're the kids?" Dean asked and the mood grew more solemn. Reid glanced at the remaining ambulance where most of the children were still being looked over by the paramedics.

"Sheriff Eagan sent out a team to bring Matthew back and Danica was taken straight to the hospital; they're hopeful she'll recover," he heard Prentiss explain, "The others should be just fine. Physically, at least."

"Guess it's back to HQ for you guys, huh? Another case closed and onto the next."

"Something like that," Reid admitted, a reluctant smile tugging at his lips, "What about you two?"

The brothers exchanged a look that Reid couldn't quite decipher.

"Guess we'll know when we get there," Sam's jaw tightened subtly but he nodded in agreement. "And hey, if you need to get a hold of us -"

"Garcia already found Bobby Singer's number," Reid said abruptly. At their looks of surprise, he was quick to reassure them that it would never reach an FBI file.

"How did she even..." Sam shook his head, resigned, but there was a bit of admiration in his eyes. The other agents said their goodbyes and made their way toward the waiting cars and Hotch. Soon only Reid was left.

"See ya, Doc," Dean bid with a wave, already climbing into the driver's seat, "Let's go, Sammy!"

"It's Sam," he grumbled, following him after shaking hands with Reid. The agent raised his hand in a half wave as they tore out of the parking lot. _What a strange day,_ he thought, and he had had a lot of strange days.

By the time he had rejoined his team, the Winchesters were well on their way to the highway.

**-X-**

***One month later...***

"Got another one."

Garcia looked up from her work as JJ slipped a slim file under the pile of near-identical ones sitting the edge of her desk. Shifting a few, she read the yellow post-it-note stuck to the front.

"Woman in White?" She bit the end of her pen thoughtfully before deciding that yes, it was about time for a break, and pulling out her personal laptop.

Typing the three words into her search engine only brought up a few pictures, some books and movies,  and a bridal shop, so she added 'supernatural' and 'folklore'.

"Better..." A few more horror films and novels, _La Llorona_ and some other ghost stories and legends that she opened in separate tabs for later, then her jaw dropped and she nearly dropped her pen.

" _Supernatural_ by Carver Edlund... 'Along a lonely California highway, a mysterious woman in white lures men to their deaths.'" One of the reviews mentioned Sam and Dean so she clicked on the link and quickly skimmed the related links. "The brothers Winchester did not mention _this_." She grinned.

"JJ! Emily! Reid! Guys, you won't believe what I just found!" she called excitedly, marching up to their desks with her laptop.

She was sure the hunters would find out sooner or later.

**-X-**

_“_ **_Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed.”_ ** **\- G. K. Chesterton**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Yep, it's over. Well, for now.**
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> **I'd like to thank everyone who gave this story a review, favourite and/or follow, or just read through it - and those who will do so in the future. Yes, you. Right there in front of the screen. Thank you.**  
>  **This took a lot longer than I thought it would (sorry). I had a family reunion (where I met one my cousins for the first time! Not even kidding), a small local anime con where my sister and I went as fem!Sam and Dean (being the older sister, I was Deanna of course - and it still technically counts as anime related. We just never talk about that...) and I was preparing for my second year of Uni - taking British Lit, btw, which is taught by Dr. Holmes (Again, I kid you not). So it was a busy month.**
> 
> **This is where many of you will leave me, so before you go: thank you again and keep an eye out for the sequel-ish series of one-shots.**  
>  **Also if you're like me and heading back to school soon, or are already back in school: good luck, have fun, and make plenty of embarrassing but wonderful memories for your friends and family to tell your children about.**
> 
> **For those of you who are sticking around: you're about to see that I am a serious myth/folklore/legend geek. I apologise. Have fun.**
> 
>  
> 
> **[NOTES]**
> 
>    
>  **Lyndefield and her People**
> 
>    
> \- Lyndefield itself is, as I mentioned, fictional. Though in my mind, I always pictured Storybrooke from Once Upon a Time.  
> \- While the Sheriff is mostly original (though he does draw from several people) all of his deputies' namesakes are companions and friends of the Doctor (Doctor Who). Specifically: Donna **Noble** , Martha **Jones** , Canton **Everett** Delaware III, Rory **Williams** , and Brigadier Lethbridge- **Stewart**. Young Mr Smith is a bit special in that, while he is based on Mickey **Smith** , the mention of his professor mother is a shout-out to Sarah Jane Smith (another, unrelated, companion). The two dogs' names come from **Rose** Tyler and **Jack** Harkness (MY doctor's loyal companions) - though you can be forgiven if your mind jumps to the Titanic.  
>  \- The Akiyama family is based partially on my cousin's family. My cousin, who is half Japanese met her husband (who is Japanese) and moved to Japan with him, where they are now raising a family. By pure coincidence, at that family reunion I mentioned I met her kids for the first time - a quiet boy and his energetic baby sister...  
> \- Yuki is based partially on Yui from the anime Angel Beats, but both she and her brother borrow traits from Lilo (Lilo and Stitch).
> 
>    
>  **The Boogeyman**
> 
>    
> \- See, I know what you're really here for. Most of my information comes from Wikipedia, my mythology and folklore app, and various smaller sites.  
> \- The boogeyman is one of those creatures that seem to pop up in some incarnation in almost every culture and country. These facts are nearly consistent: the boogeyman comes after children, leaves nothing behind, and he is fear.  
> \- In the Antilles, they call it _El Cucuy_ , the child eater; in South America and Mexico, _El Cuco_ ; in Central America, _El Coco_ * (which can sound a little like you're calling someone a kook if they don't know what you're talking about). Some versions depict him as a small humanoid creature with glowing red eyes, and some even describe him as a dead child that was the victim of violence.  
> \- In the United Arab Emirates they have _Om Al-Khadar wa Alleef_ , a tall woman with long dark hair and in Quebec, Canada they have the _Bonhomme Sept-Heures_ (7 o'clock man); both of these creature attack children who go out after sunset.  
>  -Boggarts (both Rowling's version and the folklore one) and other creatures that can take different forms are often considered boogeymen.  
> -In Indonesia, the _Wewe Gombel_ comes and takes children who have been mistreated by their parents and cares for them as a grandmother until the parents change.  
>  \- Just for fun: In Hungary they have several incarnations of boogeyman-like creatures (this country loves scaring people, I swear) but my favourite is definitely the _Rézfaszú bagoly_ , which translates to, and I say this with the utmost seriousness, 'copperpenis owl'. This creature is, as the name suggests, an owl. With a giant copper penis. Yes. 
> 
> *special thanks to guest reviewer Lanhua from FF.net  
>  ****  
>  **As always, reviews are awesome.**  
> 

**Author's Note:**

> This story has been previously posted on FF.
> 
> Thank you you for reading and I hope you continue. This is un-betaed so all mistakes are mine, with that said I would be eternally grateful if you could point out any mistakes you see so I can fix them.


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